The captain has twice lifted the trophy with the club, in 2022 and 2024 respectively, and reached another final last season when the Reds were defeated by Newcastle United.
The road to Wembley begins again tonight when Southampton visit Anfield for a third-round tie that kicks off at 8pm BST.
In his notes for the official matchday programme, Van Dijk writes: “The Carabao Cup will always have a special place in my heart, and I’m sure you guys feel the same way given the success we have had in this competition down the years.
“On a personal level, I will never forget the feelings we had at Wembley when we beat Chelsea in both 2022 and 2024. Those days stand among the best I have had.
“Of course, we suffered disappointment when losing to Newcastle United in last season’s final. That wasn’t great, but we are all looking forward to getting going again tonight as we welcome one of my former clubs in Southampton.
“We come into the game with a lot of confidence, having finished off a really good week with a hard-fought victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
“To record three victories in the space of six days, all against opponents who we knew would be extremely competitive and extremely well-organised from a defensive sense, says a lot about the quality and character of this team.
“We had to dig deep, even suffer at times, but I believe that the hard work that we put in on a daily basis can really be seen in our performances so far this season.”
